The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 8, 2026

A square ink drawing on textured cream paper with deckled edges features a central motif of organic black spots. Separated by narrow veins of paper, the irregular shapes form a dense cellular pattern within a dark border. The ink bleeds outward, softening the square's perimeter into hazy edges. Two small brown specks punctuate the page on either side of the high-contrast form.

Untitled

1987–88

Jacqueline Humphries

(American, 1960-)
America
ink on paper
Sheet: 25.2 x 25.2 cm (9 15/16 x 9 15/16 in.)
Gift in Memory of Toby Devan Lewis 2024.91.1
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Jacqueline Humphries has referred to her artistic practice as “my machine for thinking.”

Description

Jacqueline Humphries was one of a number of artists during the 1980s who worked to revive painting at a time when it had fallen out of favor in the New York art scene. This untitled set of drawings exemplifies the artist’s use of gestural forms to consider the legacy of Abstract Expressionist painting. Rather than improvisational brushstrokes, she presents carefully calculated and manipulated but organic forms.
  • Toby Devan Lewis [1934–2022], Cleveland, OH
    2022–24
    Estate of Toby Devan Lewis, Cleveland, OH
    2024
    Adam Joseph Lewis, Ivy Beth Lewis, and Mark C. Lewis, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    September 9, 2024–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Untitled|url=false|author=Jacqueline Humphries|year=1987–88|access-date=08 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2024.91.1